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2018 SGFA Cup Final
The 2018 SGFA Cup Final was the 38th final of the SGFA Cup, the main domestic knockout cup competition in Gregorian football. The match was contested on May 27, 2018 at the National Cricket Ground in Warner Bay between Helena United and Starrs County. The winner will qualify for the inaugural CONCACAF Liga América tournament. If the SGFA Cup winner also finishes in the top two in the 2017-18 League A season, then they will qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League instead, and the third-place team in League A will take St. Gregory's allocated place in Liga América. Helena United won the match 2-0, with second half goals from David Arias and Thomas Maitimo. It is their first Cup victory and first major trophy in their history. Background This will be the second SGFA Cup Final appearance for both Helena United and Starrs County. Neither side has previously won the tournament, each having lost their first final (and been shut out in the process); Helena United lost the 2006 final to Bonneville United by a score of 3-0, while Starrs County were defeated 2-0 by Midland International in the 2010 final. Thus, a first-time SGFA Cup winner will be crowned for the first time since Independence won their maiden title in 2013. The 2017-18 League A season saw contrasting fortunes for both clubs. Helena United battled for the championship lead for the early part of the season before faltering down the stretch, winning just two of their final six games; regardless, they still finished third, a best-ever placing for the club in their 28-year history. Starrs County, meanwhile, were expected to contend after earning promotion as champions of the 2016-17 League B season, but injuries, poor form and a lack of discipline that resulted in suspensions to several key players meant the club could never get going. They finished bottom of the league with just four wins from 30 games and were relegated back to the second division for 2018-19, meaning the Cup Final would be a chance to restore some pride from an otherwise dismal season. Bonneville native Romain Wilson was chosen to referee the final. For the third straight year, the SGFA Cup Final will be overseen by a referee making his first Cup Final appearance, after Jelani Washington in 2016 and Cándido Morales in 2017. Injury report United were missing captain Wim Dekker, who aggravated a calf injury in mid-week and did not declare himself available for the match. Thomas Maitimo started in his place at attacking midfield. Defender Dave Heffernan and winger Vincent Palanca were out with injuries suffered earlier in the season. County were without striker Jon Keast, who also went down with an aggravation of an early-season injury, hurting his previously sprained ankle in week 28 of the league campaign. Match summary Although considered underdogs in the match, Starrs County had the better of play in the early going, pinning Helena United back in their half with a series of attacking chances. United were unable to test County goalkeeper Sean O'Neill but once in the first 20 minutes, on a weak shot by Jason Crane-Carson, who was booked shortly before the half-hour mark for wrestling County defender Brandon Richmond to the ground while contending for an aerial ball. Just three minutes later, however, the momentum of the match swung in United's favor when County right-back Corbin Schmidt received a straight red card for a studs-up tackle from behind on United midfielder Laird Hughes. Referee Romain Wilson wasted no time in dismissing Schmidt, who began walking off the pitch before Wilson could produce his card. Hughes went to the sideline to receive treatment for a few minutes, but returned to the pitch showing no lingering effects of the tackle. After pressuring County for the first ten minutes of the second half, United – playing with a man advantage – finally got their breakthrough in the 57th minute when Dawuda Wiafe picked out a sprinting David Arias, who broke the offside trap and finished from a tight angle to make the score 1-0. United went back on the attack and pressed for another goal, but were unable to make the disparity in personnel count a second time. Wiafe was substituted after picking up a knock midway through the second half, with Nathan Lewis replacing him in his final game for United. The defensive substitution gave County a glimmer of hope and they pushed for an equalizer, but could not breach the line of Konrad Sobieski, also playing his swansong match for the Tigers. Six minutes from time, the tired and depleted County defense was hit on the counter attack as Connor de Laurentiis broke free following a County set piece at the other end. de Laurentiis' long ball behind the backpedaling defensive line found Maitimo, who rounded O'Neill and scored to ensure United their first major trophy. Sobieski – playing his final game for United before a previously-announced upcoming transfer to FC Chapman – was named Man of the Match, with his four saves all coming between the 70th and 80th minutes to preserve the then-one goal lead. Match summary Maitimo |goals2 = |referee = Romain Wilson|attendance = 26,351}} Category:Match pages Category:2017-18 in Gregorian football Category:Helena United F.C. matches Category:Starrs County F.C. matches